Armies of Liberation

In Feb, 2009, the French were earlier talking about an anti-piracy base on the island.

WT: The Yemeni Coast Guard said it was building a base in the Bab Al Mandab strait, a target of Somali pirates. On June 27, the coast guard said the base was located on the Miyoun island and would protect commercial shipping that links Asia and Europe. (Read on …)

This is good. The Border Guard and the Coast Guard regularly duke it out when the Coast Guard interrupts the Border Guards’ smuggling. The president’s nephew reportedly had a private dock set up to receive shipments of drugs and the UN found most of the illegal gun shipments depart from the Mukalla area, but now that Faris Manna was designated by the UN as a illegal weapons smuggler, I’m sure all that will end. At the same time, the services of the Yemeni Coast Guard are being sold to private shipping firms for protection against pirates, which must make them in a little less productive in other areas. What ever happened to the radar system announced in 2006 that the Italians were financing?

Yemen plans setting up Coastguard branch in Hadramout
[10/يونيو/2010] MUKALLA, June 10 (Saba) The Yemeni Coastguard Authority is planning to set up a branch in the eastern Yemeni province of Hadramout within its efforts to secure the 2000 km long coastline of the country.

The Commander of the Yemeni Coastguard Forces Brigadier General Ali Rasa’a and the governor of Hadramout Salem al-Khanbashi paid Thursday a visit to a site devoted to the establishment of a strategic port in Hadramout. (Read on …)

With renewed focus on al Qaeda threats emanating from Yemen, the US is substantially increasing support to several branches of the Yemeni military. However, Yemen’s military and security forces are often involved in for-profit ventures, on both overt and covert levels. The task of building up Yemen’s Coast Guard demonstrates such difficulties. (Read on …)

In an interview al Shabab spokesman Ali Rage said the Somali terror group intended to provide manpower to Yemen’s al Qaeda group, and that Yemen’s al Qaeda had provided generous support to al Shabab in the past.

Closer coordination between Somalia’s al Shabab and Yemen’s AQAP heightens risk of a coordinated attack on the NATO anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden. Currently AQAP is asking for any information on the US vessels in the Gulf including the names and home states of individual American sailors, blueprints, suppliers and operating procedures.

In a missive released yesterday, AQAP said, “Today, the duty of our Muslim nation is to declare Jihad against the infidels and their apostate cooperatives; not only on land but on sea and in the air too. The Crusader warships are present in the Gulf of Aden, in the Arabian Sea and in the Red Sea, and the American surveillance jets occupy the sphere over the Arabian Peninsula..” This echoes an earlier statement from AQ Central calling for naval jihad.

Droves of Yemeni jihaddists and Somalis in Yemen traveled to Somalia when the TFG was battling the ICU. Afterward, the US noted an exodus to back to Yemen. The intersection of piracy, arms smuggling, human smuggling and terrorists has been noted by the UN.

Update: Reuters: AQAP military commander Qasim al-Raymi has fought in Somalia and has written on the need to back Somalia’s revolt… Some others in that founding group had also fought in Somalia. Security experts say Yemenis make up a sizeable part of a foreign contingent that fights with al Shabaab’s Somali rank and file and supplies bomb-making and communications expertise. By one estimate there are about 500 or more foreigners in Shabaab’s ranks, which experts say may number 5,000 or more.

(Read on …)

I’ve always been concerned about that, “naval jihad” against the assorted western navies on anti-piracy ops in the Bab al Mendab. To the extent that Somali and Yemeni al Qaeda are in contact, and the pirates are already paying for intel on where the ships are, the sea is a potential theater of operations as it was in both the USS Cole and Limburg attacks. There was a statement from al Qaeda Central calling for naval jihad in Spring 2008, I think it was. To follow, the latest ramblings from the Yemeni fanatics in response to the first air strike, here at NEFA:

“And lastly, we call upon the proud tribes of Yemen—people of support and victory—and the people of the Arabian Peninsula, to face the crusader campaign and their cooperatives on the peninsula of Muhammad, prayer and peace upon him, and that’s through attacking their military bases, intelligence embassies, and their fleets that exist on the water and land of the Arabian Peninsula; until we stop the continuous massacres on the Muslim countries.”

What happened to Mr. Sovereignty, the President Saleh? The Saudis are shelling the North Yemen and apparently have take up residence in Yemen’s territorial waters. I guess as long as they are on his side, Saleh will let the Saudi forces fight his war and go where ever they want to go. Some think the rebels may outmatch the Saudi forces.

Japan Today: Saudi Arabia imposed a naval blockade on the Red Sea coast of northern Yemen to stem the flow of weapons and fighters to Shiite rebels along its border, a Saudi government adviser and media reports said Tuesday. (Read on …)

What a bloody day.

Border guards kill qat smuggler HARADH, Nov. 04 (Saba) – A Yemeni qat smuggler has been shot dead by Saudi border guards while trying to smuggle qat leaves, which is banned in Saudi Arabia, across the Yemeni-Saudi border,

Interior Ministry reported on Wednesday that Yemen’s security authorities of Hajjah province have delivered the body of the man, 21, to his family.

Though it is not banned in Yemen, qat is strictly forbidden in Saudi Arabia, which considers as a narcotic.

On the sea… They are reporting it as a French warship in the Arabic Elaf, and recently Yemen’s official media stated an investigation showed France shot down a civilian airliner although that is improbable.

1 dead as Anti-Piracy Forces attack Yemeni boat

SANA’A, Nov. 04 (Saba) – A Yemeni fishermen has been killed and three others wounded after their boat was attacked by international forces combating piracy off Somalia, the Interior ministry said on Wednesday. (Read on …)

The numbers keep doubling annually. The UN at best has a serious lack of capacity in providing services to the refugees at arrival or later on.

SANAA, 1 (IRIN) :- The past 10 months saw the highest number of Africans reaching Yemeni shores over figures for the same period in 2008 and 2007, when large numbers began travelling to Yemen by boat, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). (Read on …)

Continuing our previous discussion of the huge explosion on Midi Island, news from Al Motamar

On the other hand Yemeni security apparatuses arrested 107 African migrants in the island of Midi holding Nigerian, Chadian and Sudanese nationalities. The security men also said 2 of the African migrants; one Nigerian youth and a woman in her 6th decade have died and doctors said the death was natural.

The rest of the African migrants were transported to the Centre Al-Jazeera Leadership for investigation and then they were detained in Hudeida province. It is to be noted that this is the third rime African migrants to attempt to infiltrate into Yemeni territories via the island of Midi. On most occasions investigations proved that the African migrants, mostly Sudanese, were intending to infiltrate into Saudi territories across Yemeni territories.

This is really getting messy now…

Iran to send third fleet to Gulf of Aden, TEHRAN, Aug. 30 (MNA) – Iran will dispatch the third fleet of its warships to the Gulf of Aden on Monday to protect the cargo ships against the pirates, Iranian Student News Agency reported on Sunday.

So far the Army and the IRGC have sent two fleets of warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian oil tankers and trade vessels. The third fleet of the Navy will leave Bandar Abbas port at 8:00 local time on Monday.

Shortly after its first fleet of warships returned home in July, Iran dispatched a second group of warships to the region that came back to the country on Aug. 28.

(Hat tip, Eagle Speak, the place to go for maritime news.)

Meanwhile back in Sana’a, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi warned Sunday the Iranian government of negative impact on the Yemeni-Iranian relations in case the Iranian media outlets continued in adopting stands of sabotage elements in Saada through publishing lies and fomenting against Yemen, waving in this regard of Yemen’s taking of hard decisions.

Update: United States Actions To Counter Piracy Off the Horn of Africa , Fact Sheet, 9/1/09

TEHRAN, July 6 (Bernama) — Iran has sent two more warships to the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden to protect merchant vessels, the official IRNA news agency reported, citing an English-language satellite channel Press TV as reporting Monday. (Read on …)

Wow. What are the Iranians going to be delivering? All the Yemeni accusations that Iran was supporting the Shiite rebellion must be resolved. I’m joking, that was posturing.

PressTV Tehran and Sana’a have agreed to confront piracy off the coast of Yemen and the Gulf of Aden, says the Iranian foreign minister.

“Yemen has agreed to permit Iranian warships to dock at Yemen’s port (of Aden) to provide security to Iranian commercial ships in the region,” IRINN quoted Manouchehr Mottaki as saying.

The deal was reached during a meeting between Mottaki and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sana’a. The agreement came a month after Iran announced that six Iranian vessels were joining the international efforts against piracy off the coast of Somalia.

“Six warships and support vessels have been dispatched to the Gulf of Aden region and international waters,” said commander of the Iranian Navy Real-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari…Iran’s first deployment came after Somali pirates hijacked the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, Delight, operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) in the Gulf of Aden in November, 2008.

The latest incident involving an Iranian ship came in March when pirates attacked an Iranian vessel for what they called “illegal fishing” in the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

Related: Prime Minister flies to Syria to firm up transportation agreements

SANA’A, June 27 (Saba) – Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Mujawar will leave today for Syria on an official visit during which he will head the Yemeni side in the 9th meeting of the Yemeni-Syrian Supreme Committee.

The two-day session, which will start on Sunday, would be held in Syrian capital, Damascus. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Etri will head his country’s side.

The meeting will focus on finding ways to strengthen Yemeni-Syrian economic cooperation and deal with six documents including one on transport cooperation between the two countries.

Very interesting, I’ve been waiting for more Sudan/Yemen news after the Yemeni fishing boat exploded in Sudanese waters and the Yemeni small plane crashed after take-off in the Sudan.

Cars waiting to take them to the Saudi border is well coordinated, indicates good communication and, for human trafficking to Yemen, elaborate. Landing is not the norm. Often the poor refugees get dumped from the boat and swim to shore; no one is waiting. Landing on the islands I think is new also. I wonder what the boats are taking back? Drugs, guns, diesel? Article is from the Yemen Observer:

Yemen’s Medi Island of Hajjah province close to the Saudi borders has become a new passing point for African refugees to the Gulf countries. The past few days witnessed the arrival of large groups said that an anonymous groups of African refugees from different nationalities-Nigerians, Sudanese, Chadian.

The Red Sea has become also the new passing through point for African refugees after it was only confined to Somalis and their fatal trips in the Gulf of Aden.

Yemen’s Coastguards have captured more than 500 Africans while attempting to sneak into the lands of Saudi Arabia. The coastguards also have captured 110 African refugees in the Medi Island after thie arrival on a smuggling boat. Sources at the coastguards said that there were several cars that were waiting for them to carry them to Hardh district located at the Saudi borders to smuggle them into Saudi Arabia. (Read on …)

The network of spotters is interesting, but the several Yemeni ports more so.

Yemen Times: But how did Yemeni fishermen become pirates? The answer was disclosed by the fishermen themselves, who explained that many times they have been kidnapped by Somalis pirates, who use the fishing boats to attack commercial ships. (Read on …)

First of all, lets keep in mind that the report that “a missile” from the international fleet targeted the first Yemeni fishing boat that exploded Tuesday off the coast of the Sudan is entirely unsubstantiated and a product of the Yemeni State Media, which often lies, blatant absurd lies.

In the second case this week, the official story that follows is three fishermen exited the boat at Yemen’s Honey Island (what a nice name!) and triggered a land mine. It could be, or it could be something else like a new trade in more volatile explosives. I haven’t a clue, there are a lot of land mines in Yemen, but one exploding Yemeni fishing boat is odd, two is flakey. Both stories were announced by Saba:
Mine explosion kills two Yemeni fishermen in Red Sea island

HODEIDA, May 28 (Saba) – Two days after a missile hit a Yemeni boat in the Red Sea killing and injuring its crew members, two Yemeni fishermen died on Thursday but this time a landmine explosion was probably behind the catastrophe which took place in the Honey Island near the Yemeni island of Al-Zubair in the Red Sea.

A third Yemeni fisherman was seriously injured and taken to a hospital in Hodeida and he is still in the intensive care unit.

Sources told news websites the boat had a crew of 11, but only three were at the boat when the explosion took place, while the other crew members were preparing a meal.

When the three left their boat in the island, an explosion was heard which preliminary investigations revealed it was a mine detonation killing two and hurting the third.

The two killed were identified as Abdu Ibrahim, 20, and Ahmed Ibrahim,35.

However, speculations arose that the explosion was a missile that targeted the boat, raising fear international troops are aiming to cleanse Yemeni fishermen under the pretext of being suspected pirates.

On Tuesday, a missile, believed to be fired by one of the international naval ships patrolling the region, hit a Yemeni boat killing and injuring its crew members.

OK lets get the deisel smuggling out of the way- daily shipments from Yemen to Africa of government subsidized diesel. (Related: Daily Star: US Navy rescues 52 stranded Somalis.)

The much bigger issue is the exploding fishing boat. Its unclear that any missile hit it at this point; its could have been laden with explosives or carrying an aged gas canister and blew up accidentally. Its important for the international fleet to remain vigilant about the danger of maritime terror attacks in the Gulf of Aden. There is good reason to assume a defensive position after the USS Cole bombing (and the later Limburg). The sailors on the Cole waved at the approaching boat; the Navy cannot repeat that mistake, especially now when its easy to be desensitized by having dealt with the Somali pirates for a year or more. The rules of engagement should not allow hapless lost Yemeni fishermen to approach military vessels, blame it on al Badawi.

A statement from al Qaeda Central called for naval jihad (May 26 2008), the October one by a Yemeni forecast a major event around Somalia. The links between AQAP in Yemen and al Shabab go back to the ICU and before. Its a predictable scenario that AQAP would attempt to outdo the Cole bombing when the waters are full of such tempting targets. And I don’t necessarily mean al Wahishi.

Why Yemeni fishermen are near the Sudan is another question. The Yemeni flight school for small planes that flies back and forth between Yemen and Sudan is something, what I don’t know. Its could be normal criminal smuggling activity, spotters for pirates or something entirely innocuous.
Yemen Post

Two Yemeni fishermen were killed and one was injured while the fate of a fourth one is still unknown after their boat came under an aggressive assault by one of the international naval ships patrolling the Red Sea near Sudan on Tuesday.

A source at the Coast Guard said Abdu Marwani and Muhammad Naj’e were killed immediately after their boat was totally destroyed by a missile which some suspect was an air strike. Sources at Yemen’s navy said it probably came from sea.

While the third fisherman made it to Sudanese coast and is now in critical condition. The fishermen came from the Midy area, Hajjah before their boat was hit near Sudan’s waters.

A coordinated investigation by Yemen and Sudan is underway to explore reasons for the attack.

Meanwhile, director of the Midy district Abdul Majeed Al-Himyari dismissed reports a Yemeni boat was attacked in Yemen’s territorial waters, saying the incident took place while the boat was in Sudan’s territorial waters. He told the media the survivor is being investigated by Sudan.

Tuesday’s attack comes in a series of attacks against Yemeni fishing boats by international forces patrolling the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Early this year, two Yemeni sailors were killed as their boats came under separate attacks by international troops in the Indian Ocean. Few others were hurt, with troops saying they suspected the boats were for pirates and then hit them.

And this month, the Interior Ministry said a Yemeni boat was provoked, with NATO’s mission in the region intimidating its crew.

The area where the boat was hit on Tuesday is witnessing large fuel smuggling, with eyewitnesses affirming boats smuggle diesel to African Horn States daily.

A compilation post, a bit more detail on this in an article I wrote for the Yemen Times in December. The VOA article is very good:

VOA: UN Warns of Ties Between Lawless Groups in Somalia and Yemen

For years, criminals have used ports in the Arab world’s poorest country, Yemen, as staging areas for trafficking humans, drugs, and weapons. There are growing fears that criminal groups in Yemen and pirate gangs in Somalia are moving closer together, further complicating international efforts to stabilize the region. (Read on …)

Another case of the regime’s interests dovetailing with AQAP. CBS:

(CBS)A senior Saudi Arabian al Qaeda operative has called on Somali jihadists to step up their attacks on “crusader” forces at sea in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, and on land in neighboring Djibouti, which hosts France?s largest military base in Africa. (Read on …)

In an official report: Yemen Post

Despite its approval for foreign intervention to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Yemen has recently accused international forces of aiding pirates to attack ships off the cost of Somalia, media sources reported.

A report issued by the external and political affairs committee in the Shoura Council noted that the international forces patrolling the Arabian and Red Seas on anti-pirate operations provide Somali pirates with information over ships passing through the waterways in the region and other equipment such as boats in an attempt to make piracy appear as unchallenged force. (Read on …)

This is an accurate though dire asssessment of Yemen’s oil future and the late arrival of “self-awareness” and the current scramble to court oil majors. The whole thing is worth a read but here’s a bit:

IHS Global Insight Perspective
Significance Yemen is offering radically revised production-sharing agreement (PSA) terms and the opportunity of one-on-one bilateral negotiations with the Ministry of Oil and Minerals (MOM) in order to rekindle IOC-and especially oil-major-interest in exploration and production (E&P) investments in the country and reverse its rapidly evaporating fortunes.

Implications
Yemen’s completely failed offshore licensing round late last year served as a wake-up call, bringing the realisation that term revisions, institutional and legal reform, the cutting of red tape, and depoliticisation, are all necessary to kick-start investment.

Outlook
Even with this realisation the country’s deteriorating security situation-both on- and offshore-is likely to present a formidable obstacle to attracting new investment, while doubts about Yemen’s continued prospectivity seem well founded…

For companies looking to undertake virgin exploration, this would today most likely mean venturing out into areas where government authority is completely absent and where the possibility of this being reasserted might well come down to formal military conquest of the territory in question.

Also largely avoided is the topic of piracy emanating from neighbouring Somalia, which is making all sea journeys in the Gulf of Aden, around its far-flung Socotra Island and through the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea perilous. The upsurge in incidents over the past year has made undertaking offshore exploration with slow-moving-and extremely expensive-hi-tech seismic vessels virtually impossible, not to mention placing static drilling rigs in the waters.

Not even on a per case basis when in hot pursuit, Yemen Observer:

Yemen has denied foreign navies access to Yemen’s territorial waters whilst in pursuit of pirates. Yemen’s Deputy-Foreign Minister for Arab, Asian and African Affairs Ali al-Ayashi, denied the news currently being circulated by some websites that quoted a French diplomatic source saying the Yemeni government had permitted foreign warships to chase pirate vessels into its territorial waters on a case-by-case basis when Yemen is unable to act.

Al-Ayashi said these claims were baseless, and go directly against the sovereignty of Yemen. “The issue of fighting piracy by foreign ships in Yemen’s territorial waters is baseless, and Yemen has never agreed to any such procedures,” said al-Ayashi. He added that Yemen had affirmed many times that it would fight piracy in its territorial waters through the use of Coast Guard patrols, and through joint-operations between the Yemeni Navy and Coast Guard.
(Read on …)

Pirates are hiding in Yemen’s territorial waters, so the international task force moved the protected corridor further from Yemen.

a) the multi-national force doesnt have permission to go into Yemen’s waters?
b) if the Yemeni govt can wire the phones of journalists and activists, and cut off service to the entire region of Sa’ada, do you think they could intercept the pirates communications?
c) interestingly, Yemen’s “anti-piracy center” is almost built, the equipment will come later… I don’t think they were invited to the last meeting.

Lloyds: The protective corridor has been moved further away from Yemen’s coastline since it was first established. This was done partly to route vessels away from domestic fishing traffic but also to escape the reception area of Yemen’s mobile phone network, which UK naval officials suspect was being used to co-ordinate pirate attacks.

It has also been suggested that the pirate’s motherships are using Yemen’s territorial waters to hide from naval patrols in the region.

While pirate attacks in the Gulf have dropped off significantly this year, recent estimates suggest that piracy in the region has cost the shipping industry over $60m in the last 12 months. Lloyd’s Market Association senior executive Neil Roberts estimates that $30m has been paid in ransom demands but another $30m should be added to that figure as a conservative estimate of negotiation and delivery costs.

More from Lloyd’s

EUROPEAN Union legal teams are closing in on a deal that will allow naval forces operating in the Gulf of Aden to prosecute pirates in several regional states. Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Egypt have all been identified as potential jurisdictions. While bilateral agreements between states have allowed limited prosecutions to take place, no over-arching legal framework has yet been established…Despite a recent pledge by authorities in Yemen to strengthen anti-piracy efforts, it is understood that the country, which retains the death penalty, will not form part of the EU legal agreement. Bilateral discussions with US authorities are also understood to have stumbled over concerns regarding the strength of Yemen’s legal system and its ability to prosecute suspects.

Yes thank you. I was wondering why China embarked on its first naval operation in centuries. Concern for Yemen didn’t seem a likely motivation. The internationalization of the waterway in the last year is dramatic.

Pakalert

Hong Kong, China — “Anti-piracy operations” have given China’s PLA Navy the best excuse to penetrate the Indian Ocean and station forces there permanently.

As fighting piracy around the Gulf of Aden becomes a long-term mission, the PLA Navy South Sea Fleet is likely to set up a sub-fleet to handle that task – perhaps the “Indian Ocean Sub-fleet of the South Sea Fleet” – and the PLA Navy will become the new owner of the Indian Ocean.

In recent months, Chinese military publications have carried a number of articles stating that “the Indian Ocean does not belong to India.” The intent of these articles is increasingly clear.

While carrying out anti-piracy operations, the PLA Navy’s battleships will gain experience in long-distance maritime combat operations in preparation for the establishment of an ocean-going aircraft carrier fleet. The navy may dispatch other battleships, such as its 054A FFG, on similar missions in the future.

China has a key military objective in dispatching battleships to the Gulf of Aden. The “Chinese Aegis” class DDG it has sent to the region has the most advanced radar detection and C4IRS capabilities, and therefore can conduct effective battlefield monitoring exercises in this region. The Gulf of Aden provides the best geographical environment for the PLA Navy to conduct surveillance on the activities of the U.S. 5th Fleet.

The powerful detection capability of the Chinese Aegis DDG relies on the “Sea Lion” active phased array radar installed on the battleship.

Yemen offers its Perim island for NATO-led anti-piracy fleet
Sanaa, 21 February – As NATO is expanding into the Red Sea and towards the Horn of Africa, the improvised naval and military base in Djibuti is perceived to be insufficient. French sources now revealed that French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner and Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to build an artificial port on Yemen’s Perim island, to harbour the international NATO-led naval forces that have been tasked by the United Nations Security Council with future large-scale and enduring anti-piracy missions. The Yemeni Perim island has been chosen for its strategic location at the entrance to the Red Sea between Yemen and Djibouti. Bernard Kouchner is expected to arrive in Djibouti tomorrow for talks with the local government and that of Somalia about a future coordination between their executive forces and the newly to be allocated international anti-piracy mission

(Read on …)

OK the better title is: Presidential relatives held in connection with Embassy bombing or maybe Military Commanders’ sons financed attack? Akhbaralsr

News today – Munir Maori – The Yemeni sources said that two officers from the rank of the relatives of the President and members of his clan close, the son of one senior military commander and nephew of the second military commander, Iqavan currently in detention and investigation of alleged involvement in supporting terrorism. The same sources that the intelligence military and national security with the investigating officers since the authorities discovered that the vehicles participating in the attack on the U.S. embassy of the two, and they have contributed in one way or another in the financing and facilitate the work of the cell Almhahjmp. (Read on …)

Yemen Online

Coast Guard Forces and Border Guards integrated.
YemenOnline. Sunday 25, 2009 – The President of the Republic, H.E. Ali Salih, declared yesterday that the Coast Guard Forces and Border Guards are intended to be combined into one authority reporting to the Ministry of Interior.In his speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the Ministry of Interior Leadership’s 19th Conference under the motto “Homeland’s security is a national and collective responsibility”, he said” We have recruited 1000 soldiers to enhance security capacities of Coast Guard Forces (CGFs) in particular after the recent increase of marine piracy.” In addition, these forces are to be provided with the necessary arms and equipments.

The pirates wanted to use the boats in future pirate attacks. But there was a sit down.
Yemen on Line

Pirates Release Second Yemeni Boat
Somali pirates have released the second Yemeni fishing boat, al-Qana’a, they had hijacked early in December off Somalia’s coast along with another boat, Faluja, head of the Coastguards Ali Ahmed Rasi has said.

Yemen news agency, Saba, reported that 8 fishermen were onboard the boat when it arrived in the Aden port on January 1.

The release of the al-Qana’a boat came almost a week after pirates released the other boat along with 10 fishermen.

The two boats were seized by Somali pirates while fishing in the international waters off the Somali coast.

Somali pirates attacked 25 fishermen onboard the two boats, but seven managed to escape.

Coastguards became aware of the incident through those who could escape.

The boats were released without ransoms, Rasi said.

The pirates captured the two boats to use them for carrying out pirate attacks against vessels and merchant ships which pass through the Gulf of Aden.

Piracy has been active in recent month with more than 100 vessels attacked in the last year so far.

al-Motamar

- The leaders of Sana’a Coalition have on Tuesday confirmed their full commitment to work for achieving security, peace and sustainable development the Horn of Africa region and in south of the Red Sea and solving disputes in peaceful ways.

In the closing statement issued by Sana’a Gathering 6th summit on Tuesday the leaders of the Gathering welcomed invitation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to host the 7th summit in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.

The closing statement of Sana’a Gathering held in the Sudanese capital Khartoum emphasized the necessity of enhancing and developing the level of cooperation between the Gathering member states in all areas. The summit was attended by President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the Prime Minister of Somalia Nur Hassan Hussein, the President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh who participated as observer. (Read on …)

Yemen the main source of illegal arms to Somalia: UN
———————————————-

Jane Novak for the Yemen Times

SANA’A, Dec. 27— A UN investigation found Yemen is the primary source of arms and ammunition to Somalia which has been under an arms embargo since 1992. The panel of independent experts monitoring the embargo also reported arms smuggling from Yemen intersects with acts of piracy and human trafficking. The findings were presented in a December 10 report to the UN Security Council.

The report notes commercial weapons imports from Yemen supply Somali retail markets as well as opposition and criminal groups. The Yemeni government’s inability to stem the large scale arms trafficking is “a key obstacle to the restoration of peace and security to Somalia,” the panel found. The UN Security Council extended the monitoring group’s mandate for another year.

Yemen plans to refute the charges. SABA news agency dubbed the report “misleading” and noted that “smuggling weapons is sometimes associated with the arriving of displaced Somalis.” A Foreign Ministry statement said that one million Somali refugees in Yemen create an economic burden that “sometimes leads to social, security and health repercussions.” Nearly 50,000 Somali refugees made the maritime crossing to Yemen in 2008, authorities reported.

In prior years, about 30,000 Somalis migrated annually.

The UN report ties together weapons smuggling, human trafficking and piracy, noting some small boats used in acts of piracy also “move refugees and economic migrants from Somalia to Yemen, bringing arms and ammunition on the return journey,” Piracy in the waters between Yemen and Somalia spiked dramatically with over 100 pirate attacks and over 40 vessels captured by pirates this year. The authorities in Puntland and Somaliland told the UN monitoring group that “maritime traffic from Yemen, across the Gulf of Aden, remains their largest single source of arms.” Weapons purchased in Yemen are also smuggled to insurgent groups in Ethiopia, the investigation found. One intercepted shipment included 101 anti-tank mines, 100 hand grenades, 170 rocket-propelled grenade-7 rounds, and 170 boxes of 7.62 mm ammunition.

Increased activity by the Yemeni Coast Guard between Aden and al Mukalla impacted arms shipments from ports in the patrolled areas. However, the monitoring group found that the lack of regular patrols in al Mukalla “means that arms traffic continues unabated.” The group recommended capacity building programs for the Coast Guard and direct naval interdiction.

Yemen’s coast line extends 1906 km. The Coast Guard, created in 2003, is working towards taking control of Mocha and al Mukalla from the military. The Republican Guard and Central Security forces have authority at ports where the Coast Guard has limited presence. The Coast Guard has nine operational ships in a fleet of 15, and only two with deep water capacity.

Inadequate funding is an obstacle to increased capacity, Coast Guard Commander Ali Ahmed Ras’ee said in May.

The US provides some operational and training support and in 2004 donated seven patrol boats. With Italian financing, the Italian firm SELEX is implementing a coastal radar system that will eventually cover 450km of coast line including hot spots for piracy and smuggling.

Responding to the UN report, the Foreign Ministry said, “Yemen reiterates its readiness to cooperate with the UN and all regional concerned parties to fight piracy and all forms of weapon smuggling, the issues resulted due to the situation in Somalia where there is not a central government.”

Yemen has the second most heavily armed citizenry per capita after the United States. In August 2007, authorities implemented a ban against carrying weapons in cities and have confiscated over 150,000 weapons since the program began. Over 200 weapons shops were also closed.

Weapons smuggling from Yemen to Saudi Arabia is also a concern. In July, Saudi Arabia announced that in a three month period, border guards confiscated over a ton of explosives and a large number of arms including 13 rocket-propelled grenades, 99 sticks of dynamite, 100 fuses, 12 detonators, more than 100 guns and 15,000 cartridges.

The UN monitoring group on the 1992 arms embargo on Somalia finds “Yemen remains the most important source of commercial arms transfers to Somalia.”

One shipment for the ONLF in Ethiopia contained 101 anti-tank mines, 100 hand grenades, 170 rocket-propelled grenade-7 rounds, and 170 boxes of 7.62 mm ammunition, each containing 440 rounds. The mines were packed in rice sacks from a company in Sana’a. The same boats that bring the migrants bring back weapons and are involved in piracy.

143. Not surprisingly, there appears to be an intersection between piracy and other
criminal activities, such as arms trafficking and human trafficking, both of which
involve the movement of small craft across the Gulf of Aden. One sub-group of the
Puntland network, based in the Bari region, allegedly uses the same boats employed
for piracy to move refugees and economic migrants from Somalia to Yemen,
bringing arms and ammunition on the return journey.

Of course, commercial weapons trafficing in Yemen is often sponsored by those in official positions. The purported largest weapons dealers (for example, Faris Manna, Regent Street, Sana’a) are said to be partners with some very top officials (Salah & family). This is part of the reason the military budget is so high. Not only is this hooked in with piracy and refugee smuggling but also drug and oil smuggling. Its John Gotti with an air force.

Report text below the fold: (Read on …)

Update: But what to do with them?The Navy is saddled with two-dozen pirates it captured in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday with no country willing to take them into custody till reports last came in….The consensus that emerged was that there was no enabling provision in the international law to deal with a situation where pirates are arrested in the international waters.

Update 2: Yemen requests its pirates back (before they start talking) to determine their identities and put them on trial if there is proof of wrong-doing. Lets see if that goes any better than the terror trials.

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) — : The Indian navy captured 23 piracy suspects who tried to take over a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden, between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, Indian officials said.

In addition to the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni suspects, the Indian navy seized two small boats and “a substantial cache of arms and equipment,” the military said in a statement.

Among the seized items were seven AK-47 automatic rifles, three other automatic weapons and 13 loaded magazines; a rocket-propelled grenade launcher along with rockets, cartridges and grenades; up to three outboard motors and a global positioning system receiver. (Read on …)

following the lead of some commerical carriers that are re-routing

Cruise ship will evacuate to avoid pirate attack

BERLIN (AP) — A German cruise ship plans to evacuate passengers in Yemen and fly them to the next port of call Wednesday to avoid any possible encounters with pirates off the coast of lawless Somalia.

Several other cruise operators said Tuesday they were also shifting or canceling tours that would have taken clients past Somalia, as nations and companies around the world debated how to confront the piracy dominating the Gulf of Aden.

The European Union said its anti-piracy mission would station armed guards on vulnerable cargo ships — the first such deployment of military personnel during international anti-piracy operations in the crucial waterway. (Read on …)

well thats awfully nice of them

BOSASSO, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali pirates have agreed to release a Yemeni cargo ship, the MV Amani, without ransom, after negotiations between the hijackers, local elders and provincial officials, a minister said on Friday.

“No ransom was paid, but after negotiations, the pirates will get off the ship soon. The Yemeni ship will be released in the coming hours,” Ali Abdi Aware, state minister of the northern province of Puntland, told Reuters.

The ship was seized on November 25 in the Gulf of Aden. No other details about the vessel, its crew and cargo were available.

Aware said the Yemeni ambassador to Somalia was also in Puntland to participate in the negotiations to release the ship.

A surge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden has sent foreign warships rushing to the area, but the attacks continue despite the huge presence of international forces.

In a separate development, a Kenyan maritime official said on Sunday that gunmen who captured a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks and other military hardware had reached a deal with its owners to release the vessel.

The pirates and owners of the MV Faina were discussing arrangements for delivering the money, said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme.

The pirates had previously demanded a $20 million ransom.

aha, sat down and had a chat, they did

Mareeg:

Somali President Yusuf urged the hijackers to release the Yemeni ship immediately and unconditionally, threatening that they will face a fierce confrontation if they do not heed his call. He also warned Somali businessmen operating between Somali and Yemeni ports that “our Yemeni brothers have a similar culture and hot weather like Somalia,” noting that the Yemeni authorities can intercept ships and freighters owned by Somali businessmen in retaliation for the hijacking of the Yemeni ships off the Somali coasts. Somali sources said that some Somali businessmen, who are involved in acts of piracy and who support the hijackers of Arab and foreign ships off the Somali coasts, have their businesses headquartered in the capitals of the Arab Gulf, Djibouti, and Kenya.

Ali Abdi Awara, minister of state in the Puntland province, has vowed that the Puntland forces will storm the hijacked Yemeni ship if the pirates refuse to release her without being paid a ransom. He said: “We will release the hijacked Yemeni ship by force if they do not release it without payment of ransom, because we are linked to Yemen by good relations.”

I love a good gif, these courtsey of Eagelspeak. Apparently this is the normal route for these size ships which are staying closer to the maritime security zone. But I had no idea that it was all pretty much off the coast of Yemen, not Somalia:

And another, UN free content:

This (UNOSAT) 3D perspective map illustrates the relative spatial density of reported pirate incidents in the Gulf of Aden for 2008 (current as of 21 November). Incidents that have occurred within 5km of the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) following implementation on 26 August 2008 are identified.

They have collaborators in other places too. Asharq Alawasat interviews pirates:

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- A negotiator for the pirates holding the Saudi supertanker “Sirius Star” off the Somali coasts has disclosed that 40 hijackers seized control of the Saudi vessel and that negotiations were continuing between them and its owners. He added that the “hijackers’ love” for Saudi Arabia because it is a Muslim country would reduce the ransom and also disclosed that the pirates received help from other countries that are providing them with information about the routes used by ships.

One of the hijackers said in a telephone contact with Asharq al-Awsat who said his name was “Jami Adam” (35 years old) and talked through an interpreter by a cell phone linked to satellites that the negotiations were continuing with the Saudi tanker’s owners…

He added: “We had to bear many expenses to hijack it; $ 500,000 was paid for information and expenses for the people who hijack ships.”

Though he did not set a time period for ending the negotiations with the tanker’s owners, he said that they handed back in the past 10 ships belonging to Asian countries, among them China and Japan, whose owners paid ransoms ranging between $1 million and $1.8 million and added: “Some of them paid 1 million, 1.5 million, and 800,000. There is nothing fixed. It is negotiation.” Adam disclosed that the pirates benefit from information they receive from their partners who support and provide them with information from other countries and said: “We have countries that give us information about the ships in the sea, if there are commercial ships or sailing in our way.” He added that these neighboring countries are Yemen, Eritrea, Kenya, and South Africa. Asked how they follow the ships, he said: “We have radars and know every ship’s location. We have collaborators in Kenya, Sri Lanka, Yemen, and Dubai.” He pointed out that these collaborators have nothing to do with the money “and they only provide us with the information.” Jami Adam stressed that the pirates’ partners who are present in more than one Arab, African, and Asian country raise the costs of their operating expenditures in the single hijack, adding that the cost of a hijacking might reach $500,000.

HT: Crossroads Arabia

Some good stats, the analysis seems a bit insistant that Yemen is a powerless victims with no ties, contradicting the pirates themselves.

ANALYSIS-Yemen powerless to combat Somali piracy
Thu 20 Nov 2008, 12:59 GMT

Reuters

[-] Text [+] By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

BEIRUT, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Somali pirates preying on shipping in the Gulf of Aden have struck most often off the coast of Yemen, an unstable, impoverished Arab state that has few resources to tackle the maritime scourge.

Ships often take sea lanes near Yemen to avoid proximity to pirate lairs in lawless Somalia or its breakaway Somaliland and Puntland regions, but there is no sign of Yemeni involvement in the attacks, diplomats in Sanaa and some analysts say.

They do not exclude links between Somali pirates and some of the several hundred thousand Somali refugees and migrants in Yemen, but cannot confirm theories that pirates have forged ties with criminal networks there during years of people-smuggling. (Read on …)

Otay. Yemen Post:

Negotiations got underway to release 28 Yemeni fishermen who were held by Somali pirates off Socotra island in the Arab Sea four months ago, informed sources said.

The pirates held 33 Yemeni fishermen along with three boats, but they used one of the boats together with five of the fishermen on the boat and took the others away to continue piracy acts, the sources said.

The pirates have been seizing the fishermen and using them as human shields while using the boats for piracy acts.

Authorities informed international forces in the Indian ocean about the incident as the forces then launched a hunt for the pirates. Two pirates were killed in clashes with the international forces.

However, the fate of the fishermen is still unclear.

Some of the British forces located in the ocean were pursuing the pirates, who were seizing the five fishermen, but the pirates escaped and the fate of the fishermen has not been known yet.

Piracy has recently soared threatening the Gulf of Aden and the Arab Sea despite the multinational forces in the area.

HT: Eagle Speak, the best maritime themed blog out there on 1) Iranian mystery ship, clean of CW, docks in Rotterdam and 2) shipping patterns re-routing to avoid Gulf, just as DPI takes over Aden port.

III: OSLO, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Norwegian shipping group Odfjell will stop sailing through the Gulf of Aden to avoid pirates and will reroute its vessels around the Cape of Good Hope despite the higher costs, the company said on Monday.
Piracy off Somalia has plagued the shipping lane linking the Middle East Gulf and Asia to Europe and beyond through the Suez Canal. On Monday the U.S. Navy said pirates seized control of a large Saudi-owned oil tanker off east Africa — the first oil tanker to be taken by pirates in the area.
“We will no longer expose our crew to the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of Aden,” Odfjell Chief Executive Terje Storeng said in a statement.

“The re-routing will entail extra sailing days and later cargo deliveries,” he said. “This will incur significant extra cost, but we expect our customers’ support and contribution.”
Odfjell, which specialises in chemical tankers and has a fleet of 92 vessels, is one of a handful of companies which, according to experts, have already decided to reroute around the Cape, while several others are thinking of following suit.
The moves reflect the escalation of attacks from one every couple of weeks to as much as four in one day. Last week Somali pirates captured three ships including a chemical tanker chartered by another Norwegian shipping group, Stolt-Neilsen .
Odfjell said it was frustrated that governments and other authorities were taking a “limited interest” in the problem.
“Several chemical tankers have been hijacked at gunpoint, and although hostages up to now reportedly have been released seemingly unharmed, we do not know if this will be so in the future,” it said.
“The efforts that are being made do not seem to put an effective end to what can best be described as ruthless, high level organised crime,” Storeng added.
The company said it would resume sailing through the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal once sufficient protection is in place or action is taken to prevent pirate attacks in the area.

Bad stuff people. ACJ

Pirates seize ship; two attacks foiled

Turkish maritime officials said pirates commandeered a Turkish chemical tanker with 14 Turkish personnel aboard Wednesday off the coast of Yemen. The Karagol, bound for India, was carrying 4,500 tons of unspecified chemicals. On Tuesday, Russian and British forces repelled a pirate attack on a Danish cargo vessel off Somalia in the first action by a Russian warship sent to bolster international forces fighting a plague of hijackings in coastal waters vital to global commerce. Separately, Indian commandos from the Indian warship INS Tabar foiled similar attacks on a Saudi Arabian chemical tanker and an Indian vessel.

Threat made to close border

North Korea’s military announced it will shut the country’s border with the South on Dec. 1 —- a marked escalation of threats against Seoul’s new conservative government. The North also said it will allow U.S. nuclear inspectors to review documents and interview engineers at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon, but will bar them from taking soil and nuclear waste samples —- considered critical to weapons program monitoring.

Militia captures second major port

A Somali Islamist militia seized a key port town Wednesday, giving it control of most of southern Somalia and sidelining the weak government. The capture of Merka, 56 miles from the capital, Mogadishu, means the hardline al-Shabab militia now holds both major ports with airstrips south of the capital.

Are there Yemeni pirates working along with the Somali pirates? Noooo! I’m shocked, shocked I say. The pirates (and Somali jihaddists) are getting the weapons from…… hmmmmm, now thats a tough one. OCTFO of course its Yemen. Yemen is the arms dealer to most jihaddi groups.

Yemen Online

The Royal Navy has repelled a pirate attack on a Danish cargo-ship off the coast of Yemen, shooting dead two men believed to be Somali pirates. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the incident took place on Tuesday, when HMS Cumberland crew members tried to board a traditional wooden dhow.

The Yemeni-flagged vessel was identified as having been involved in an earlier attack on the Danish ship

An MoD spokesman said the pirates were shot in self-defence.

After initial attempts to stop the dhow failed, the Royal Navy launched sea boats to encircle the vessel.

The British seamen were fired on and shot back before the dhow was boarded and its crew surrendered.

Third death

An MoD Spokesman said: “Two foreign nationals, believed to be Somali pirates, were shot and killed in self-defence.

“A Yemeni national was also found injured and later died, despite receiving emergency treatment from the ship’s doctor.

“It is unclear whether his injuries were as a result of the fire-fight or a previous incident involving the pirates.”

A post-shooting investigation is being carried out, the spokesman added.

Details of the incident emerged when Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo revealed the frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless), from its Baltic Sea Fleet, had also tried to rescue the Danish vessel MV Powerful.

He said the two warships repelled the attempted raid after the pirates fired weapons at the Danish ship and twice tried to board it.

HMS Cumberland, a Plymouth-based Type 22 frigate, is currently deployed on a piracy-fighting mission in the Gulf of Aden as part of a Nato taskforce.

There has been a rise in attacks on merchant shipping and aid shipments in the area.

The boarding took place 60 nautical miles south of the Yemeni coast, inside the Maritime Security Patrol Area.

The MoD said the boarding operation was conducted “in accordance with UK Rules of Engagement”.

Pirates have been causing havoc in one of the world’s busiest shipping areas, making the waters off the Horn of Africa some of the world’s most dangerous.

The pirates prey on one of the world’s key shipping routes, which leads to the Suez Canal, the transit point for up to a third of the world’s oil.

Rocket grenades

Pirates have hijacked more than 30 ships so far this year, twice as many as last year, with the ransoms paid to them by governments or ship-owners far higher than in previous years.

The pirates are equipped with speedboats and armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

They have taken millions of dollars in ransoms and their actions have led to a hike in insurance costs for shipping and threatened humanitarian supplies.

A Turkish-flagged tanker with a 14-man crew became the latest victim of the pirates when it was hijacked off Yemen on Wednesday, according to the Anatolia news agency.

Last month, a maritime watchdog said that Somali pirates were responsible for nearly a third of all reported attacks on ships.

BBC

OGJ

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11 — Pirates off Somalia have hijacked a second vessel chartered by chemical tanker group Stolt-Nielsen, this time taking the MT Stolt Strength in the Gulf of Aden, despite a coalition of 10 countries, including Russia, that have naval vessels patrolling the waterway.

“The ship was en route to Kandla, India from Senegal and was carrying phosphoric acid,” said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Program, which monitors piracy.

According to Mwangura, there were 23 Filipino crew aboard the Philippines-flagged carrier, which is managed by Manila’s Victoria Ship Management and on long-term charter to Stolt Tankers BV.

Seizure of the MT Stolt Strength came nearly 2 months after pirates hijacked the MT Stolt Valor, 60 km off Yemen.

That vessel, which carried 22 crew members, was en route from the Suez Canal to Mumbai and remains in the hands of the hijackers.

Busy, unsafe waterway
The Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, is one of the world’s busiest waterways, with some 20,000 ships passing through each year.

The waterway also is an important energy corridor, especially for Persian Gulf oil westward bound for the Suez Canal or Suez Mediterranean (Sumed) pipeline.

Tankers carrying 3.3 million bbl of oil—about 4% of daily global demand—pass through the Gulf of Aden each day, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The International Maritime Bureau says 199 incidents of piracy or attempted piracy were reported worldwide this year from January to September. Of these, 63 were in the Gulf of Aden or off the Somali coast.

According to Stolt Tankers, charterers of MT Stolt Strength, “the vessel was within the recognized Coalition corridor at the time of the seizure.”

But that is no guarantee of safety, according to IMB, which has issued an urgent warning to ships to take extra measures to deter pirates even while sailing in the corridor patrolled by coalition naval forces.

What’s the problem? The black market economy may suffer if security is established in the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mendab?

Its amazing how much smuggling (drugs and medicine, weapons, persons, oil, counterfeit money) is going on. All with the knowledge of and/or facilitation by administration officials and in some cases, deployment of state apparatuses.

al-Motamar

Yemen warns of an Israeli scheme for internationalization of the Red Sea
Monday, 10-November-2008
Almotamar.net – Yemen has expressed its concern against dangers of the military presence in the south of the Red Sea on the Arab national security and what it represents of an introduction for passing of a scheme for internationalization of the Red Sea waters.

Yemen Foreign Minister Dr Abu Bakr al-Qirbi on Sunday expressed concern of the Yemeni Republic with what appears in the offing as a result of the intensive multi-national military presence at the southern inlet of the Red Sea and the dangers of that on the Arab national security and what it represents of a prelude for implementing the project of internationalizing waters of the Red Sea that was previously suggested by Israel and was faced with an Arab rejection.

The Yemeni Foreign minister also affirmed in an interview to al-Mithaq newspaper in its today’s issue that there are efforts exerted by Yemen under auspices of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, including his latest movement to a number of Arab countries for crystallization of unified Arab stand in the face of what is going on of military massing up and acts of piracy in the Red Sea.

Minister al-Qirbi renewed confirmation of Yemen’s stand calling for the countries on the Red Sea to bear their responsibility and coordinate their efforts for fighting the acts of piracy and not to depend on foreign countries in this regard.

The Minister has called the attention to a series of early arrangements and measures taken by the Yemeni government for facing the piracy, the more important is the deployment of more than one thousand soldiers along the Yemeni coasts and building an advanced centre for observation in addition to sending calls to the international community to support those measures.

FT:

The head of the United Nations body charged with combating piracy has advocated establishing a UN force to pacify an area of the sea, in the face of the piracy problem off Somalia and Yemen.

Efthimios Mitropoulos, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organisation, made the call in an interview with the Financial Times when he described the crisis in the Gulf of Aden – the gateway to the vital Suez Canal – as among the most severe facing the world.

This year has seen 77 attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Aden, with 31 hijacked, according to the International Maritime Bureau, which monitors piracy. More than 200 crew and 10 vessels are still being held in Somalia. The most recent hijacking – of an 80,000-tonne vessel carrying iron ore from Canada to China – came last Wednesday.

There are fears shipowners could start diverting vulnerable ships round the Cape of Good Hope rather than brave the increasingly risky route through Suez. Traffic through the canal accounts for about 12 per cent of oil transported by sea and significant amounts of other trade.

“I would like to see governments committing sufficient numbers of warships, military aircraft and surveillance assets to the region and to co-ordinate their command and control under the auspices of a United Nations mandate,” Mr Mitropoulos said.

The effort needed as many ships and other military assets as possible, he added. For that reason, he would prefer a UN-mandated force to one from a “defence organisation” – a reference to Nato’s growing involvement in deterring piracy in the area and protecting food-aid shipments for Somalia.

The regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh has the tendency to call nearly everyone it arrests “terrorists” (Houthis, journalists, southerners, activists and now pirates) as an offset to its laid back counter terror policies and laws. The following is from the official Yemeni news agency, SABA:

Anti-Terror unit carries out military operation

SANA’A, Nov. 05 (Saba)- Special Forces’ Anti-Terror Unit carried out on Wednesday ” al-Bahr al-Haej” operation or the angry sea operation in the Southern Military Zone.

The operation the anti-terror unit carried out with participation of military and security units, was designed for freeing a ship from the seize of armed group of terrorist pirates via hit- and -run attack against terrorists and freeing the ship and hostages in it.

The forces have carried out the operation successfully and strongly, embodying the great responsibility the military forces carry on shoulders for protecting security and stability across the homeland.

TWN

Some 16,000 ships navigate through the Gulf of Aden each year, with more and more of them coming under attack. The AP reported Thursday that six ships had fended off attacks over the previous two days and that a seventh had been captured. More than 77 ships have been attacked this year in the Gulf, at least 31 one of them falling to captors. Ransoms paid out in 2008 are reported to have topped $30 million. (Read on …)

MOSCOW, October 26 (RIA Novosti) – A missile frigate from Russia’s Baltic Fleet arrived at the port of Aden in Yemen on its way to join an international naval group fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia, the Russian Navy said.

“After water and food replenishments, the warship will carry out measures to protect shipping in the coastal waters of Somalia where sea pirates are active. In particular, the Neustrashimy frigate may escort passenger and merchant vessels,” the Russian Navy said, adding that the warship had the right to use force, including weapons, against pirates.

The Neustrashimy (Fearless) frigate is to join an international naval group, which has surrounded a Ukrainian ship, the MV Faina, after it was seized by Somali pirates on September 25. The Faina, which was carrying tanks and heavy weapons, has a crew of 17 Ukrainian nationals, two Russians, and one Lithuanian on board.

The Faina’s Russian captain died of a heart attack after the vessel was seized. The pirates holding the ship have demanded an $8 million ransom, and have threatened to kill the hostages if a military operation is launched against them.

The Neustrashimy’s armament includes SS-N-25 Switchblade anti-ship missiles, SA-N-9 Gauntlet SAM, a 100-mm gun, torpedoes and depth charges. The frigate also carries a Ka-27 ASW helicopter.

Pirates are increasingly active in the waters off Somalia, which has no effective government and no navy to police its coastline. Somali pirates have seized around 30 ships so far this year off the coast of the east African nation.

Possible Base

Sana’a, 16 Oct. (ITAR-TASS). The speaker of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov does not exclude the possibility that during the Yemeni President would bring up the issue of re-establishing Russian naval bases on Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden during his visit to Moscow.

In answer to the question if Russia has any plans to do so, Mironov said, “I think that this theme will be discussed concretely during Ali Abdallah Saleh’s visit to Moscow”. Mironov did not discuss the length of the visit.

The speaker considers the future use of Yemeni ports by the Russian Navy as well as re-establishment of a base to be possible. “We have to proceed step by step, taking into account new vectors in the foreign and defense policies of Russia and the increase in op tempo by the Navy. I think that its possible that we will examine the issue of the use of Yemeni ports by Russian Naval ships”, he said.

from Russia, Yemen Post

Yemen announced that it will postpone the regional summit for fighting piracy, which was planned to be held in Sana’a next week. Participating countries were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding for mutual cooperation between them in fighting piracy.

From his part, Minster of Transportation, Khalid Al-Wazir, told media outlets that the postponing came in response to the Regional Center for Combating Piracy request, adding that the summit will be held later this year.

Al-Wazir assured that Yemen will establish a center in Sana’a for monitoring ships in collaboration with 20 countries and International Maritime Organization.

In the meantime, seven military ships from six different countries have headed to Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden in a mission to fight Somali pirates, and to protect trade ships and fisheries from pirates operations, whose attacks have risen over the last few months, especially in the international waters between Yemen and Somalia.

This comes within the country’s efforts to restrict piracy activities targeting ships off Yemen’s coasts, especially in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

Piracy activities have long been a headache for international navigation in the Gulf of Aden, which is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and connects Asia and Europe.

A Yemeni official who preferred not to reveal himself, told a Chinese agency that president Saleh’s visit to regional countries came as the result of the Yemeni government’s worry for business ships that pass by the Gulf of Aden.

The sudden movement by regional countries came after pirate’s hijacked a Ukrainian ship that was believed to be carrying seven tankers. Further, pirates warned that they would explode the ship if procedures were taken against them.

Sources who asked to be left anonymous mentioned to the Yemen Post that the tanks that were on the Ukrainian ship were on their way to Yemen, and were part of the military agreement signed between Russia and Yemen.

Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Mrs. Sergey Meronof said last Friday while visiting Yemen that her country intends to send more military ships soon to free the Ukrainian ship if needed.

Increased Russian Naval Presence, Increased Use of Yemen’s Ports for Military and other Goals

Russia could resume naval presence in Yemen

SANA, October 16 (RIA Novosti) - The speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament said on Thursday that Russia could resume a naval presence in Yemen.

Authorities in the Middle East country are calling on Moscow to help fight piracy and possible terrorist threats. The U.S.S.R. had a major naval base in the former socialist state of South Yemen, which merged with North Yemen in 1990 to form the present-day Yemen.

Speaking to journalists in Sana, the capital of Yemen, Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov said the new direction of Russia’s foreign and defense policies and an increase in its naval missions would be taken into consideration when making a decision on the request.

“It’s possible that the aspects of using Yemen ports not only for visits by Russian warships, but also for more strategic goals will be considered,” he said. (Read on …)

One ship captured, another released- the Iranian ship suspected of transaporting CW. (Saleh is worried about the internationalization of the waters off Yemen and is scrambling for an Arab initiative.) :

BOSASSO, Somalia, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Pirates in the commercially strategic waters between Somalia and Yemen hijacked one ship and released another on Friday, a government official and a shipping line said.

The panama-flagged Wail, carrying cement, was the latest in a long list of ships that have been boarded by pirates in recent months. Several have been released on payment of a ransom and one luxury yacht was liberated by French commandos.

“A Panama-flagged ship, Wail, was hijacked on Thursday night between Socotra Island and Bosasso,” said Ali Abdi Aware, state minister for northern Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.

He told Reuters the crew of 11 consisted of nine Syrians and two Somalis.

Also on Friday pirates freed an Iranian bulk carrier and its 29 crew after seven weeks of negotiations, Iran’s official IRNA news agency said, quoting the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRSL). (Read on …)

Afraid of the Americans, not the pirates, but any sort of sustained policing of the Bab al Menbad would disrupt Yemen’s block market economy. Xinhua

SANAA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has recently made a sudden visit to Jordan and Egypt to discuss rampant piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden.

Maritime officials have said the recent sudden surge in piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden, a narrow, 885 km-long stretch of water that lies between Yemen and Somalia, was unprecedented with more than 50 ships and 250 seamen been seized this year alone.

A Yemeni source said on condition of anonymity that the president’s visit to Jordan and Egypt on Oct. 1-4 leading a high ranking delegation, including Prime Minister Ali Muhammad al-Mujawa and Speaker of House of Representatives Yahia Al Ra’i, highlights Yemen’s growing fears about an American-European plan to internationalize the Red Sea. (Read on …)

Front Page Mag

Jihad on the High Seas
By Stephen Brown
FrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, September 30, 2008

After years of battling al-Qaeda on land, Western forces now face a terrorist war at sea. In a recent communiqué, the Islamist organization claimed responsibility for this year’s surge in pirate attacks in the vital Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. Dozens of vessels from different nations have been seized and held for ransom, shaking the world’s shipping industry. Al-Qaeda calls its maritime campaign “a new strategy which permits the mujahedeen” to hijack shipping, since “fighters who aspire to establish the caliphate must control the seas and the waterways.”

Counterterrorism consultant Olivier Guitta revealed the al-Qaeda connection in his Asia Times column, writing that the terrorist organization “intends to take control of the Gulf of Aden and the southern entrance of the Red Sea.” Guitta called the area “strategic” for the radical Islamic group.

Al-Qaeda’s goal is the removal of Western military bases from the Arabian Peninsula. It believes sea lanes “weakened by acts of piracy,” combined with mujahedeen attacks, will force concessions from Western powers. And while Al-Qaeda has not abandoned its more traditional tactics – it has a presence in both Somalia and Yemen and attacked the American embassy in Yemen this month, killing 16 – the organization is increasingly focusing its terror on the high seas. (Read on …)